I’ve been playing through Overload and having an extremely fun time. It’s not perfect by a long shot. The game can get frustrating to play at times. But when you start getting a grip on the mechanics the game can prove to be very rewarding.
Goliath
After my last post I noted that something big was coming. And it did. A very powerful Operator, launching streams of lasers and barrages of missiles while zipping in and out of cover. Fabricators nearby creating more Operators to ambush me as I tried to keep focus on this powerful Operator.
This was Goliath, and despite the mission brief ordering me not to, I had no choice but to engage. It held the station’s power core, and the only way to overload it was to destroy the Goliath itself. It was a shorter battle than I expected. I unloaded every missile and bomb that I could at the Operator. I ran out, and was forced to rely on lasers and bullets to finish the thing off.
I prevailed. The mission was over. After this, it was time to head over to Titan, another of Saturn’s moons.
Titan
The difficulty of the Titan levels jumps quite significantly. At first I really struggled against some enemies. Screaming Operators shaped like skulls charging into you and exploding. Operators using heat seeking missiles, powerful devastator missiles, or filling whole rooms with bombs. Smaller Operators that are more mobile, dodging your attacks and taking advantage of cover. These clankers aren’t messing around any more.
I have to admit I rage-quitted a few times. I learned how to quick save and quick load. In order to win these skirmishes I needed to improve. And when you start to figure out new strategies, how to track Operators and sneak up on them, how to get out of an ambush, when and were to use your missiles without wasting them.
And when a skirmish goes well, it’s empowering. You feel you are improving, and it encourages you to keep going. The last Titan base has another Super-Operator. This one is called Taurus. It charges at you with spinning blades. It cloaks itself and litters the room with bombs. My armour was extremely low for this fight, yet somehow I was able to destroy it and get out before the base exploded.
Now I’m onto the next of Saturn’s moons. I travel to Tethys.
Weapon Upgrades
As I’m making progress, I’m finding many more upgrade points I can apply to my ship and weapons. These are making my weapons much more powerful. What was once a basic laser attack that eats up energy, is now a rapid-firing, energy-efficient, deliverer of destruction.
Most of my missiles have been upgraded. Even the basic missiles can track enemies, making them easier to hit. These upgrades definitely helped in dealing with the much stronger enemies on Titan, but they never made the game feel easy.
One of my favourite weapons so far is the Time Bomb. Launching this weapon causes an explosion that slows time around it. As with all slow-motion mechanics, you can move slightly faster, giving you an advantage. When used well, this weapon can help you clear a room full of enemies before they can fight back
Finding Secrets
If I have one criticism of the game so far, it’s that it can be difficult to navigate some levels, even with the help of the map. There was one level I was unable to figure out which exact cave would take me to the next part of the level. The entire area was a group of dark caves that all looped back on themselves, meaning I would constantly be flying in circles.
Secrets can also be hard to find as well. You’ll often find a button to destroy that tells you a door is unlocked, but then never find the door. I’m starting to get more used to navigation with the map now, and am able to find secrets more easily in the later levels. So maybe this one is just down to a skill issue on my part.
Another thing I find weird is the placement of power-ups. These are temporary boosts that can help you fight opponents, but they are often placed at the other end of a room you have to fight your way through. By the time you collect it, all the nearby Operators are dead, and it will run out before you find more Operators to fight.
Despite these shortcomings, I’m still having a lot of fun with this game, and I’ll continue blasting my way through Saturn’s moons until the Operator threat is finally neutralised.
